Sendai Virus Blocks Alpha Interferon Signaling to Signal Transducers and Activators of Transcription

We demonstrate here that Sendai virus (SeV) blocks alpha interferon (IFN-α) signaling to signal transducers and activators of transcription (STATs) in HeLa cells. IFN-α-stimulated tyrosine phosphorylation of STATs and subsequent formation of the IFN-stimulated gene factor 3 transcription complex were inhibited in SeV-infected cells, resulting in inefficient induction of IFN-stimulated gene products. None of the components of the signaling pathway—type I IFN receptor subunits Jak1, Tyk2, Stat1, Stat2, and p48—was degraded. Moreover, tyrosine phosphorylation of Jak1 in response to IFN-α was unaffected at the early phase of infection, suggesting that oligomerization of the receptor subunits proceeded normally. In contrast to Jak1, IFN-α-stimulated tyrosine phosphorylation of Tyk2 was partially inhibited. Therefore, this partial inhibition of activation of Tyk2 probably contributes to the subsequent failure in the activation of STATs.